The epic Ruler of the Skies set starring Mega Rayquaza has hit the shores of Pokémon TCG Pocket with a fleet of EX and Trainer cards up for grabs. The EX cards have been a mixed bag, so how do the Trainers fare in the ever-dynamic meta?
Recent sets have had Trainers making a bigger impact, so will Ruler of the Skies follow suit? Let’s find out!
Team Rocket’s Boss
Obviously, we begin with the man himself, Team Rocket’s Boss, known to Pokémon fans as Giovanni. And this guy likes Basics, as he pulls Basic Pokémon from your opponent’s hand into their Bench. Among the top-tier threats, this Supporter benefits Suicune EX, which appreciates a full Bench across the battlefield.
Among the new cards from the Team Rocket’s Ambition set, the Persian card deals 40 DMG for each mon on the opponent’s Bench. However, there’s a catch. If Boss had summoned Basics from the opponent’s deck, this would have been a superb Supporter, but sadly, it does so from the hand. Now, what if their hand has no Basics? Of course, keen-eyed players avoid filling up their Bench when they see a Suicune EX facing them, and in such cases, this card surely works. But even then, unless the opponent refuses to put their Basic on their Bench after using a Poké Ball (the only clear indicator of a Basic in their hand), you are not deriving much from the Boss.
This is a niche card that can definitely work wonders for Suicune EX but you’ll have to use it wisely, at the right time to maximize your damage output.
Team Rocket’s Master Plan
Once again, we have a Supporter that operates on an “if only…” scenario. Team Rocket’s Master Plan isn’t a bad plan considering that you Confuse your opponent, who can’t attack unless they get heads from a coin flip. But hey, it’s Team Rocket, so there’s going to be some topsy-turvy shenanigans, and this happens in the form of a coin flip of your own. If you get tails, then even your Pokémon is Confused. This often leads to a stalemate if you both can’t get heads, and you two just waste a turn.
As such, this Supporter is a weird card to use in general, but it does have a great application between two Pokémon from the Team Rocket’s Ambition set.
Magmar does 50 DMG for every Special Condition on the opponent, and having Team Rocket’s Weezing EX on the Bench accounts for both Poison and Burn statuses. Using the Master Plan also adds Confusion into the mix, which means that for only 1 Energy, Magmar dishes out 160 DMG with no recoil damage (Rampardos who?).
While this is also a niche usage, it’s more appealing and rewarding than the Boss. But do keep in mind that if you get tails, Magmar is also Confused and you won’t be able to attack, so pray that your opponent remains Confused.
Thankfully, we have a handy EX that ensures you stay safe from getting Confused.
Run Ogerpon EX with Master Plan to create a fantastic stall, keeping it on the Bench to prevent the Supporter’s side effect in case you flip a tails. This EX will always remain useful with its phenomenal ability!
Team Rocket’s Researcher
The Team Rocket’s Researcher Supporter is reasonable for decks that only utilize Team Rocket’s Pokémon. It can help increase the size of your hand to help Team Rocket’s Slowking EX deal more damage. But it’s all dependent on coin flips, with this Supporter functioning a lot like Misty in this regard.
Since you obviously need space for Trainer cards in your deck, there are only so many Team Rocket’s Pokémon you can pull, making this less oppressive than Misty.
Team Rocket’s Goo-zooka
Using Team Rocket’s Goo-zooka increases your opponent’s retreat cost by 1, making it more difficult for them to escape. Also, being an Item, you can use two in a turn to increase the opponent’s retreat cost by 2, trapping almost anything. Honestly, quite a nightmare for any deck!
However, there is a forgotten EX that relishes this Item… enter Whimsicott EX.
This Pokémon does 40 DMG + 30 more for each Energy in your opponent’s retreat cost. Using two Goo-zooka cards adds a minimum of 60 DMG, making it a neat 100 DMG for 2 Energies. Even for those with 1 Energy retreats, Whimsicott EX is inflicting at least 130 DMG, and if it’s against EX, you can add +20 DMG with Red.
Whimsicott EX, Ogerpon EX, and maybe Leafeon EX make for a formidable Grass deck, alongside Trainers like Erika, Goo-zooka, Master Plan, Leaf Cape, and Fragrant Forest. Is Team Rocket’s Ambition secretly a Grass meta buff?! And oh, having Crimson Blaze Ariados adds another retreat cost, thereby increasing your output by 30 more damage.
Nevertheless, this Item will always see usage and is relevant for future metas as well, making it a worthy Crown Rare for this set.
Team Rocket’s Thieving Machine
Time to meet what is frankly the craziest card from this set, Team Rocket’s Thieving Machine. It steals a random Item card from your opponent’s discard pile and puts it into your hand, essentially increasing the Items you eventually throw into your own discard pile. You see where I am going with this? If you haven’t guessed it yet, here’s one of the recent Pokémon EX from the Ruler of the Skies set:
Rotom EX does 30 DMG + 10 more damage for each Item in your discard pile. Using the Thieving Machine twice adds +20 DMG to Rotom’s typically huge output since you are adding two extra Items in your discard pile. This makes the Thieving Machine better than Order Pad and Prank Spinner. Remember that it’s best to use Rotom EX as a finisher due to its low HP and for collecting as much Energy as possible throughout the battle. Pack an Oricorio to punish EX Pokémon and land the KO with Rotom EX.
Another demonic application of this Item is to draw two Goo-zooka from them and use your own two Goo-zooka, resulting in a jaw-dropping retreat cost of 8, effectively trapping them forever.
That’s not all. If you’re attacking with Team Rocket’s Tinkaton, both the opponent’s attack and retreat cost 2 more Energy. So, dancing alongside Goo-zooka (x4) and Thieving Machine (x2), the opponent’s retreat cost is 10!
And add 2x Ariados to your Bench, and the opponent’s retreat cost is 12! This is brutal!
Stadiums are Trainer cards whose effects affect all Pokémon in play (both you and your opponent) and can be used once per turn.
- This card stays in play after you use it, unlike Items and Supporters, which are discarded after they are used.
- Only one Stadium can be in play at a time, and it’s discarded only after a new Stadium enters the battlefield or if the effect of a Pokémon/Trainer disposes of the Stadium.
- Stadium cards of the same name cannot be played when the same Stadium is already active.
Arcade
Flip 3 coins. If and only if all are heads (an extremely low-probability gamble), you can draw cards until you have 7 in your hand. Great reward, but almost impossible odds. Just skip this; it’s too risky! There are far better Stadium cards to use in TCG Pocket.
The Trainer cards from Team Rocket’s Ambition are mostly a bad lot, with only the two Items, Goo-zooka and Thieving Machine, not only finding wide usage in this set’s meta, but also potentially in future metas. Goo-zooka particularly is one to watch out for!
As always, happy collecting and battling, Pokémon TCG Pocket-ers!
